Life-saving device



mt. 30,1923. w'zwm S. A. PASCALES LIFE SAVING DEVICE Filed March 5. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J LL. w. l H l l l I @Mewwsflm mmmm @ct. 30 1923. v 5. A. PASCALES LIFE SAVING DEVICE 192 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed. March 5.

Patented @ct. 39, 1923.,

STELEANOS A. PASGALES, 033 DETROIT, IVZICHIGAN.

LIFE-SAVING DEVICE.

Application filed March 3, 1921; Serial No. 449,283.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Srnnnnrros A. PAS- oiinns, a subject 01" the King of Greece, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life- Saving Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawings. In my Patent No. 1,363,166, granted Dec. 21, 1920, there is disclosed a lifesaving device in the form of a boat having its sidewalls provided with buoyant members which are collapsed. when the life boat is not in use, and the buoyant members are distended to materially increase the cross sectional area of the life saving boat and thus permit of its riding a rough sea. To distend the collapsible buoyant members, I employ various kinds of arms and racks and pinions, and since experimenting with the life-saving device, I have found it essential to use some means of maintaining the collapsible buoyant members distended so that the buoyant members may yield when contacting with other boats or wharves.

This invention aims to provide yieldable means for maintaining the buoyant members distended so that the buoyant members may partially collapse or recede without causing injury to parts of the buoyant members or any mechanism associated therewith, and provision is made for temporarily rendering the yieldable means inactive while the buoyant members are distended and placed in active position.

My invention further aims to provide buoyant members with air chambers that may be supplied with. air under pressure to assist in distending said collapsible buoyant members, and the construction entering into this invention will be hereinafter specifically described and then claimed.

Reference will now be had to the draw ings, wherein- Figure 1 is a plan of a life saving boat, partly broken away and partly in section, showing a boat provided with the improved buoyant members; I

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of one of the buoyant members relative to a side wall of the boat, and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a yieldable device adapted to be used in connection with a buoyant member.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 denotes a life saving boat having the side walls 2 provided with large longitudinal openings 3, and this boat may be fitt-ted out with practically the same equipment as the life saving boat disclosed in my patent previously referred to.

Suitably secured to the walls 2, adjacent the edges of the openings 3, are substantially semi-cylindrical buoyant members a made of a flexible, pliable or water proof material that may be easily collapsed similar to inflated balloons. Each buoyant member has its upper and lower longitudinal walls provided with air chambers 5 having filling connections 6 extending through the wall 2, and these filling connections permit of air being pumped into the chambers 5 to inflate said chambers and increase the buoyancy of the member 4: when attached to the wall 2.

Each buoyant memberand its air chambers 5 have tapering ends, as best shown in Fig. 1, and suitably supported by the Wall 2, at each end of the opening 3, is a bracket 7. Pivotally connected to the bracket 7 is a lever 8, and loosely connected to one end of said lever, preferably by a pin and slot connection 9, is a long backbone arm 10 provided with a plurality of spaced ribs or bows 11 which are suitably connected to the arm 10 in a vertical plane at a right angle to said arm. A portion of the arm 10 is curved to conform toan end portion of the buoyant member 4, and said arm is adapted to maintain the buoyant member distended with the ribs 11 maintaining the shape 01 said buoyant member, as shown in Fig. 2.

The opposite end of the lever 8 is pivotally connected, as at 12, to a plunger 13 slidable in a bearing 14 suitably mounted adjacent the bracket 7. On the bearing 14 is a telescopic cylinder composed of a stationary section 15 and a movable section 16, these telescopic sections containing a coiled expansion spring 17 which surrounds the plunger 13 and maintains the section 16 normallyextended relative to the stationary cylinder section 15. The plunger 13 has a collar 18 and between said collar and the movable cylinder section 16 is an apertured lever 19 having one end thereof pivotally connected to the bracket 7. The opposite end of the lever 19 is connected. to the bearing 14: by block and tackle 20 which may be advantageously used for pulling on the lever 19 to compress the spring 17 and thus release the plunger 13, so that connections may be made between the lever 8 and the arm 10, when distending 0r collapsing the buoyant member 4:.

Pivotally connected to the lever 8, adjacent the plunger 13, is an angularly disposed brace 21 and this brace has its outer end detachably connected, as at 22, to the arm 10, so that any pressure against said arm will be transmitted through the lever 8 to the spring 17 within the telescopic cylinder.

The elements 7 to 22 inclusive are used at each end of the buoyant members 14:, and by reference to Fi g. l, it will be noted that the outer ends of the backbone arms 10 abut intermediate the ends oi? the buoyant member, and any pressure against the buoyant member causes the anus 10 and braces 21 to shift and compress the springs 17 within the telescopic cylinders, said cylinders and the appurtenant parts thereof constituting cushioning means for an inward movement of the outer ends of the arms 10. p

hen the buoyant members d are to be collapsed, the levers 19 are first shifted to compress the springs 17, and relieves the plunger 13 of any spring pressure. Then the outer ends of the braces 22 may be disconnected from the outer ends of the arms 10, and said braces, the arms 10 and the ribs 11 carried thereby swung inwardly, for instance, as far as indicated by dot and dash lines in Fig. 2.

Since the arms 10 may be of considerable length the ribs 11 add weight thereto,and it is preferable to use a power mechanism for shifting the arms 10 inwardly, after being released by the braces 21. For this purpose,

the abutting or confronting ends of the arms 1.0 are connected by cables 23 having ends thereof fixed to a bearing 2 suitably supported within the boat 1, and each cable has a looped portion 25 engaged by a sheave 26 attached to a drum cable 27. The drum cable 27 is attached to and wound on a com pound drum 28, loosely mounted on a shaft 29, journaled in the bearing 24- and another bearing 30. The shaft 29 is adapted to be driven from an electric motor 31 in circuit witha suitable source of electrical energy, as a storage battery 32, and the operation of the motor may becontrolled by a conventional form. of switch .33. The operation of the compound drum 28 by the shaft 29 may be controlled by a conventional formof clutch 34, andvwhen the drum 28 is revolved, the

1 ,avaose cables 27 will be wound thereon and pull on the cables 23, thereby swinging the ends of the arms 10 inwardly so that the buoyant members t may collapse in proximity to the side walls of the boat 1.

t is thought that the manner of dist-end l in g and collapsing the buoyant members will oted at the ends of the side wall openingsextending into said buoyant members and adapted to retain said buoyant members distended, and yieldable means at the pivoted ends of said. arms adapted to cushion an inward movement of said arms.

2. A life saving boat as in claim 1, and

ribs carried by said arms to assist in maintaining said buoyant members distended.

3. A life saving boat as in claim 1, Where in each buoyant member is provided with upper and lower longitudinally disposed air chambers adapted to be inflated from within said boat.

4. A life saving boat having side walls provided with openings, collapsible buoyant members mounted on the outer sides of said side walls at the openings thereof, arms pivoted at the ends of the side wall openings extending into said buoyant members and adapted to retain said buoyant members distendedflevcrs supporting the pivoted ends of said arms, braces connecting said-arms to said levers, phingers connected to said levers,

and cushioning means for said plungers adapted to yieldingly resist inward move ment of said arms.

5. A life saving boat as in claim 4:, and means connected. to said arms adapted to facilitate swinging said arms to permit col lapse of said buoyant members.

In testimony whereof I ailiX my signature in presense of two witnesses.

STELEANOS A. PASOALES.

Witnesses:

A. M. Donn, ARTHUR MiINNICK. 

